Pity the lowly barbell. It cowers beneath the mass of the Smith Machine, shrinks near the ever-expanding cables, and trembles at the site of its larger, more-worshiped cousin, the barbell.
Or is the dumbbell the mightiest of them all?
Legendary Karl Malone seems to think so. This retired Los Angeles Laker, who had one of the best physiques in NBA basketball, credited dumbbells with part of his success. Malone has said that 70 percent of his workout is using dumbbells.
Who'da thunk it?
Lots of people, apparently. As our schedules become more crunched, the economy less certain, and as real estate becomes more expensive, people are finding that dumbbells are affordable, compact, quick and easy to use, and maybe even superior to other types of lifting.
DUMBBELLS CAN GET YOU LEAN
Dumbbells are the one type of weightlifting equipment that you can readily use for a cardio benefit workout. Yes, you heard right.
"If you use lighter weights than you need and do faster reps, you can easily get your heart rate in the target zone while lifting with dumbbells," says Jason Rechtien, a certified personal trainer in Chicago who has specifically designed dumbbells-only workouts. "Once your heart rate gets there, go from set to set with little rest to keep your heart rate up. You'll combine a lifting workout with the cardio benefit."
Need we mention that it saves time, too? The caveat is to remember to check your heart rate from time to time during the routine (or wear a heart rate sensor) so that you don't go over or under your target heart rate. Unlike an aerobic class or daily jog, a weightlifting workout is not quite as easy to "tell by feel" if your heart rate is at the right pace.
Will it burn as many calories as a steady jog? Absolutely, asserts Rechtien. "You could easily burn 500 or more calories with a decent routine on dumbbells, and be building muscular strength to boot."
DUMBBELLS CAN GET YOU BIG
Big boys only use big iron, right? Well, if you've ever seen those 75-pound dumbbells, you know they're not for sissies.
"Using a large machine or clanking plates together doesn't mean you're working harder," says Rechtien. "Sure, some of the work is the weight itself. But your form is what makes the workout. When your form is right, and you're trying to build muscle, the workout will be harder."
Dumbbells actually force you to use better form. Because you have a weight in each hand, your arms are working separately. It also requires you to pay closer attention.
"It's a little easier to be unaware of your form when using a barbell, and certainly so on cables or machines," says Rechtien. "With a barbell in each hand, you can better feel the impact of the weight on individual muscles--and get a better perception of whether you're using the proper form."
Even a trainer will admit that if you're bench-pressing a serious amount of weight, such as 200 pounds, you will have to go to barbells. They just don't make dumbbells that big. "But 95 percent of people who lift can do everything with dumbbells," says Rechtien.
YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO WORK OUT
How can dumbbells make you more likely to work out? Well, the answer is easy. They're the simplest way to do a quick set. You can sit on your couch in front of the TV with a couple of weights and do biceps curls.
Also consider the gym. "If you know a full-dumbbell workout, you never have to wait at the gym," says Jim Youngstrom, a personal trainer in Minneapolis who works with several of his clients on quick-weightlifting routines. "More people are waiting for the Smith machine or the machines that tell you how to do the exercise, like LifeFitness machines. But you won't likely wait for dumbbells."
In addition, if you have dumbbells at home, they're easy to store and you can do a quick workout at home--even in front of the TV.
DUMBBELLS ARE THE CHEAPEST HOME GYM EVER
You can watch all the infomercials you want, but if you want a lean body, flat abs, and less fat, a bench and dumbbells is all you need. An adjustable bench and three sets of dumbbells can cost as little as $150-175. If you find a good used set, it will cost even less.
Get a stable bench that at least inclines, and preferably, declines as well. For the three sets of dumbbells, get one set that is light enough for you to do biceps and triceps, and another couple of sets that are heavier, including one that will give you a meaty enough bench press workout. You can always add more sets of dumbbells as you develop.
You don't have to buy the fanciest dumbbells in town, either. One of the most useful styles is the hex dumbbell, a fixed-weight piece of equipment that doesn't roll on the floor and doesn't require any changing of plates.
DUMBBELLS 101
Don't know where to start? If you're already lifting with barbells, mimic the exercises using dumbbells instead of barbells, and make the total weight lifted slightly less than what you're lifting with barbells. This will help you perfect your form.
You can consult a personal trainer on the cheap. Ask him to show you a routine for all body parts using only dumbbells. That's one session for $60-75 or so, and you have a routine you can use consistently.
For the ultra-cheap route for you self-taught types, there are four good books with everything you'd ever want to know about dumbbells:
Dumbbell Training for Strength And Fitness by Matt Brzycki;
Complete Body Development with Dumbbells by Mark McKown;
Dumbbell Fitness by Stephen Antonetti);
The Great Dumbbell Handbook by Michael Jespersen.
And there is a very important reason to try dumbbells at home...
THERE IS LESS CHANCE OF INJURY
If you're home alone in your basement, you could drop a barbell on your neck. Or, if you don't hurry up on the big machines at the gym, a hulky meathead could punch you. And you could even get into a car accident on your way to the gym!
See, dumbbells look pretty smart after all.
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